PSY102 Final Exam Flashcards
Mental Activities and/or processing of information that includes: learning, memory, perception, language and communication, decision making, and beliefs and attitudes describes what cognitive process?
Thinking
The ability to reach learning, problem-solving, or instructional goals through optimal use of mental resources describes which cognitive trait?
Cognitive Efficiency
A systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are processing and interpreting information in the world around them and affects the decisions and judgements that they make describes which cognitive trait? This cognitive trait can influence thinking, memory, and learning.
Cognitive Bias
_______________, is a mental short-cut that we use when estimating probabilities. When we are trying to assess how likely a certain outcome is, we often make decisions by assessing how similar it is to an existing mental prototype.
Representative Heuristic
What is an example of a Representative Heuristic?
If an individual is shy, reserved or logical upon first meeting we might assume that they are introverted and major in math. Any example here is fine, as long as it matches the idea.
“The naturally occurring frequency of a phenomenon in a population” describes which principle?
Base Rate
Our tendency to use information that comes to mind quickly and easily when making decisions about the future describes which mental shortcut?
Availability Heuristic
What is an example of Availability Heuristic?
When considering two employees for a promotion, John and Jane, you remember that Jane accidentally made a major mistake earlier this year. Although Jane has otherwise performed excellently, your decision to promote her or not is heavily influenced by your memory of the event.
Our tendency to look back at an unpredictable event and think it was easily predictable describes which cognitive bias?
Hindsight Bias
Looking for information that confirms your belief system and minimizing information that doesn’t describes which cognitive bias?
Confirmation Bias
Which cognitive bias causes us to rely too heavily on the first piece of information we are given about a topic? Provide an example of this bias.
Anchoring Bias. An example of anchoring bias occurs when we are gift shopping for a loved one. We see a beautiful necklace for $100 but that is too far out of our budget. We then see a pair of earrings for $75, this is also out of our budget but is cheaper than the necklace.
Our knowledge and ideas about objects, actions, and characteristics that share core properties describes what?
A Concept (e.g., a dog)
What is the difference between an algorithm and a heuristic?
An algorithm is a step-wise procedure for solving a specific problem in a finite number of steps, the result of an algorithm is predictable and reproducible given the same parameters. Whereas a heuristic is an educated guess which serves as a guide for subsequent explorations.
When you persist in approaching a problem in a way that has worked in the past but is clearly not working now you are stuck in…?
A Mental Set
Which mental set describes difficulty perceiving an object being use for something other than what it was designed for?
Functional Fixedness
Salience of surface similarities describes what cognitive bias?
We tend to focus on the surface-level properties of a problem and ignore the similarities between problems that may help us to better solve them. For example, the similarities between a doctor removing a tumor and a military officer capturing a base.
Using concepts to understand objects or events that we’ve never encountered before describes what cognitive process?
Categorization
What is the hierarchical structure of categorization?
Super-ordinate (i.e., animal)
Basic-level (i.e., dog)
Sub-ordinate (i.e., pug)
A knowledge base that represents relations between concepts in a network describes which cognitive process? Provide an example.
Semantic network. An example would include the relationship between eggs and bacon (i.e., breakfast foods).
Concepts we have stored in memory about how certain actions, objects and ideas relate to each other and is the result of categorization describes which cognitive process?
Schema
Define Language
A largely arbitrary system of communication that combines symbols (such as words or gestural signs in rule-based ways to create meaning.
The smallest units of sound that every language contains describes which aspect of language?
Phonemes
The smallest meaningful unit of speech describes which aspect of language?
Morphemes. Can be bound morphemes (prefixes) or free morphemes (stand-alone words)
Grammatical rules that govern how words are composed into meaningful strings describes which aspect of language?
Syntax
What does “colorless green ideas sleep furiously” demonstrate?
Semantic errors. While the sentence follows phonological and syntactic rules, because it fails to follow semantic rules it does not have meaning.
Define Pragmatics
Pragmatics are the rules of using language for effective communication, they help people understand language contextually - this is especially useful when sentences have more than one deep structure.
Inferences that are not tied to specific words and phrases but instead arise from contextual factors and the understanding that conventions are observed in conversation describe which pragmatic principle?
Conversational Implicatures
Elements of communication that are not part of the content of language but are critical to determining its meaning.
Extralinguistic Information that includes facial expressions, tone of voice, body posture and gestures, etc.
Language variation used by a group of people who share geographical proximity or ethnic background.
Dialect
The view that all thought is represented verbally and as a result language defines our thinking.
Linguistic Determinism
The view that characteristics of language help to share our thought process, but do not necessarily define it.
Linguistic Relativity
Define Cognitive Economy
Cognitive Economy allows us to simplify what we attend to and keep the information we need for decision making to a manageable minimum.
Distinguish between concepts and schemas, and explain how categorization plays a role.
We use categorization to group concepts into a schematic network. For example, we define the concept of dog as having four legs, a tail, and barking and put all dog breeds into a schematic network for easy access and identification.
What are the components of language?
Phonemes, Morphemes, Phrases, Sentence, Syntax, and Semantics.
A complicated system to process, store, and retrieve information over time describes what cognitive process?
Memory
Brief storage of perceptual information before it is passed to short-term memory describes what stage of memory?
Sensory Memory
What are the four components of working memory?
Working memory is a set of memory procedures used to make sense of, modify, interpret, and store information in short-term memory that include:
1. Episodic Buffer
2. Visuospatial Sketchpad
3. Phonological Rehearsal Loop
4. Executive Control System
A type of sensory memory that applies to vision and lasts about 1-3 seconds describes which concept of memory?
Iconic Memory
A type of sensory memory that applies to auditory information and lasts about 4 seconds describes which concept of memory?
Echoic Memory
The ability to vividly recall visual sensory inputs describes which concept of memory?
Eidetic Memory
When information is stored, but not accessible, it is the result of which concept of memory?
Interference
What is the difference between proactive and retroactive interference?
Proactive interference involves interference with the acquisition of new information due to previously learned information. Retroactive interference is the inability to recall old information due to the acquisition of new information.
Chunking
Organizing information into meaningful groups, allowing us to extend the span of short-term memory.
What is Maintenance Rehearsal?
Repeating stimuli in their original form to retain them in short-term memory (i.e., repeating phone numbers back to ourselves)
What is Elaborative Rehearsal?
Linking stimuli together in a meaningful way to improve retention of information in short-term memory (i.e., linking two concepts together with an image - parietal lobe determines balance because Gemma is clumsy)
What are the levels of processing?
Depth of transforming information, which influences how easily we remember it - there are 3 levels:
- Visual
- Phonological
- Semantic
What is the primacy and recency effect?
The tendency to remember concepts learned first/early and concept learned last/late (i.e., in a list of words, you are most likely to remember the first few and last few read)
What is the Serial position curve?
Graph predicting both primacy and recency effects .
What type of memory concerns the recollection of events in our lives?
Episodic Memory
A part of long-term memory where prior knowledge or experience is encoded and stored and can be accessed when needed defines which concept of memory?
Explicit Memory
A part of long-term memory that influences prior knowledge or experience on behavior, regardless of whether the person is aware of these influences or not described which concept of memory?
Implicit Memory
Define Procedural Memory
Procedural Memory concerns our ability to recall previously learned motor skills and habits.
A type of implicit memory that allows us to identify a stimulus more easily or more quickly after we have encountered similar stimuli describes which concept of long-term memory?
Priming.
Define conditioning in learning.
Conditioning is a form of learning where a given stimulus or signal becomes increasingly effective in evoking a response or a response occurs with increasing regularity in a well-specified and stable environment. The type of reinforcement used will determine the outcome.
A type of implicit long-term memory about familiar, repetitive objects or stimuli is…?
Habituation
What are context-dependent and state-dependent retrieval?
context-dependent learning identifies superior recall when the external context of the original memories matches the retrieval context; state-dependent learning identifies superior retrieval of memories when under the same physiological influences or state as during encoding.
What is retrograde amnesia?
Retrograde amnesia is the inability to retrieve events that occurred before a given time (i.e., Lindsay Lohan in a Holiday Fall)
What is anterograde amnesia?
Anterograde amnesia is the inability to transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory, as such, it is impossible to form new memories (i.e., 50 first dates)
